


Little Boy Blues & The Man In The Iron Suit.

by JamieB93



Series: Blood Feud [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Parents, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF Ben Parker, BAMF May Parker (Spider-Man), Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, F/M, Fat Shaming, Harley Keener & Harry Osborn are siblings, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener centric, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Harley Keener is a mess, Kid Harley Keener, Kid Harry Osborn, Kid Peter Parker, Mary Parker is a good Mom, Norman Osborn Being a Jerk, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Ooops, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Ben Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Harry Osborn, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Sad Ending, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, So..., Suicidal Ideation, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a mess, also all of this is in a 9 year old boy, brief but it's there, harley keener deserves the world, norman osborn is scum of the earth, sad boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:29:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23910862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieB93/pseuds/JamieB93
Summary: Harley knows he needs to be thin, his father's told him enough times.He just wants to be normal. He wants to be strong and smart and funny like his big brothers. His wants to make his Mom proud.Maybe starving himself is the only way.Maybe meeting Tony Stark, who also has some stuff going on, won't be the thing to save him just yet. But he's easily the coollest adult Harley has ever met, and they seem kind of similar in some ways.Maybe, it was all going to be fine.[Part 4 of a planned series called Blood Feud]
Relationships: Ben Parker & Harley Keener, Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Harry Osborn, Harley Keener & Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Norman Osborn, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harry Osborn & Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Norman Osborn & Peter Parker, Norman Osborn/Mary Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Blood Feud [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709539
Comments: 20
Kudos: 114





	Little Boy Blues & The Man In The Iron Suit.

**Author's Note:**

> major tw in this chapter for anything relating to eating disorders. tread carefully if this affects you.
> 
> you will come across some quite shocking statements and views in this chapter, which is written from the perspective of a nine year old with severe self-isteem and food issues. it is not a reflection of my true opinions. 
> 
> yeah, this is kind of a brutal one.

**Blood Feud: The Gathering Storm**

**Part Four:** Little Boy Blues & The Man In The Iron Suit.

_Wednesday, October 22 nd, 2008, Osborne Penthouse, Manhattan, New York._

Harley Osborne always knew that his life didn’t really suck. As long as he could remember, Harley’s mom had run a charity and she would always tell him about the sad cases that she was working on. Harley was lucky. Some kids grew up in houses with no food or hot water or parents who told them they loved them. It made him sad to even think about it because he never felt happier than when his Mom or one of his brothers or his Aunt May or Uncle Ben would hug him, plant a wet kiss on his cheeks and tell him that they loved him, and Harley would _always_ say it back because it was _important_ to let them know. Harry had told him one time that a boy in his class at school’s big brother had killed himself because he didn’t get told he was loved enough so Harley was determined to make sure the same thing didn’t happen to either of his big brothers. Harry had gotten into trouble for telling Harley that which made Harley feel a little mad cos Harry was very sad about it and wanted to tell someone and Harley had been so excited when it was him. Yeah, it made him cry for an hour, but he was still happy that Harry told him something so grown up. He normally only told Peter that stuff.

But sometimes, Harley felt like his life sucked just a little bit. They lived in a nice house but both Harley’s big brothers went to school every day and his parents went to work and Harley was left on his own in the house with Miriam, his personal tutor and Aunt May. Harley _loved_ Aunt May a lot but it kinda sucked that when Miriam was around and he was meant to be doing his lessons that she got kinda strict about it. Most of the time she even left him on his own with Miriam! Harley didn’t like the way he was at school. Peter and Harry had actual friends and funny stories from their school, Harley didn’t understand why they got to go to a building with other kids and he had to stay in the stupid house with stupid Miriam and her stupid roles and her stupid candy ban.

It wasn’t all bad though, cos the best part of Harley’s day would always be when he heard his big brother coming home and then his Mom a little bit later. He would sit and listen to his brothers tell funny stories about what they’d got up to at school that day. One time, Harley had laughed so hard he snorted milk out of his nose when Harry told a story about he stole his math’s teachers wig! Harley wondered if he could steal anything of Miriam’s but he figured he’d get caught easier than Harry had done because Harley was the only kid at his school.

And anything was better than when Harley’s Dad was in the house. Everything changed when he was around and Harley didn’t like it. It was like the house somehow became colder. And sometimes his Dad would say really mean things that made Harley feel bad, and last week, he’d even hit Harley around the face the same way he always hit Harry around the face. It had been a shock and Harley had cried for hours and hours when it happened but his big brothers had looked after him and made him feel safe until his Mom had come back the next day. That made everything better. Harley was sure that his Mom must have been one of the angels from the Bible that Miriam tried to teach him about sometimes. If his Dad made the house seem colder, she warmed it up. And she gave the best hugs. Sometimes his Mom would stay in the house with him during the day and do her work on the computer whilst he did his sitting next to her. And then she’d give him a glass of milk and a cookie, something which Miriam never let him have. Miriam wasn’t as bad as Harley’s dad or stupid Mr. Beck but she was definitely his third lest favourite person.

And maybe he shouldn’t have snuck all the frosting this morning, but it felt like a good idea at the time and now all Harley wanted to do was _run_. He knew that May and Miriam would not let him go outside so instead he just decided to jump around from sofa to sofa in the living room. He was a little disappointed that May didn’t join in his game of the floor is lava because she was usually fun but instead she was just sitting in one of the arm chairs, reading her book and pretending like she didn’t even know he was there. Miriam was still sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for Harley to walk over and start his work, but jumping and running were much more fun so he figured he’d carry on doing that.

“Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven” he chuckled to himself as he completed his thirty seventh jump between the two sofa’s without hitting the lava floor, “I did 37, May! 37! Can you believe that I did 37 jumps and didn’t hit the floor once!”

May didn’t reply, which made Harley frown.

“I’m gonna do 50!” he said as he jumped between the two objects once again, “Or maybe even a 100 and then I’ll have beaten Harry’s record!”

“OK, sweetie” May said softly as she turned a page in her book, she didn’t look at him in the eyes like she normally did when she was talking to him, “You get to 100 and beat Harry’s record, and then when Mom gets home that’s what I can tell her you did today instead of doing your lessons with Miriam. If that’s the choice you’re making.”

“It is” Harley shot back, “I’m gonna beat the record and then I’m gonna do my lessons as well and I won’t get in trouble cos of I’ll have done _everything_ , Auntie May.”

“Is that so?” May asked, putting her book to one side, “But does that mean that you didn’t sneak a can of frosting, call Miriam some not very nice names and threw your books everywhere? Books which are still on the floor by the way, books you need to pick up…”

Harley stopped. He hadn’t thought of that until now. He had been kinda rude to Miriam and he knew it was wrong to make a mess and then not clear it up. Peter always cleared his messes up. And if Peter did something, that meant Harley should too, because Peter was always good. Harry wasn’t always good and sometimes he got in a lot of trouble. Harley didn’t want to be in trouble.

“OK, I’ll clear it up when I’ve done 100!” he announced, happy he’d made a decision before resuming his jumping around the living room.

“That’s fine, honey” May repeated, “So, in one hour before your Mom gets home because she’s cancelled her afternoon meetings because she wanted to reward you for all your hard work by going to the park, you’re going to do 60 more jumps, tidy a whole room of mess and then get _all_ your Math, Reading and Spelling work done?”

Harley stopped again. That was a good point. He’d forgotten that his Mom had promised him a trip to the park that afternoon if he was a good boy and got all his school work done. If his Mom got back and found out he’d been naughty, she wouldn’t take him to the park and she’d probably tell his Dad about the can of frosting. Which meant that his Dad and dumb Mr. Beck would carry on calling him Pudge and making fun of the fact Harley was fat. It wasn’t like Harley even meant to be fat, he just liked eating a lot, if anything it was foods fault for being so delicious! His family said they didn’t like him eating too much sugar cos it made him all crazy and hyper but Harley knew it was because they all didn’t want him to be fat anymore, but he couldn’t help it.

Harry and Peter would sometimes tell him that he wasn’t even fat. Harley knew that they were just doing it so he didn’t feel bad. He wished he could look more like his big brothers. Harry had started doing proper workouts with their Uncle Ben over the summer and he had like a six pack now, which Harley knew was what made girls like boys, and a lot of girls liked Harry. Harley saw him making out with at least three during Peter’s birthday party and he was always texting girls on a night before he had to give his cellphone over to their Dad at 8pm. Everyone always talked about how handsome and good-looking Harry was, never Harley.

Peter wasn’t muscly like Harley but he was at least skinny. It was weird too because Peter ate just as much as Harley did but never got any fatter. It was unfair and if Peter wasn’t so nice then Harley would have probably felt even more angrier about it than he did.

Harley quickly realized he didn’t want any of what May was trying to tell him would happen if he didn’t get his work done so immediately stopped jumping. Great. He felt kind of sad and worried now, he focused on the ground so May wouldn’t know he was already crying like a big cry stupid cry baby. His brothers never, ever cried unless they were hurt or their Dad had been extra mean.

“Are we gonna go and do our work now?” Auntie May asked softly and Harley nodded, still not looking up as he took her hand. She led him back into the kitchen where Miriam was sitting at the table, ready with his work waiting for him.

“Hi, Miriam” May said politely as she and Harley sat down at the table. Harley noticed that May had sat him down in-between them both, “Harley has decided that he would like to start his work now, so we’re going to try it again, aren’t we Harley?”

“Yes” Harley replied quietly.

“OK” Miriam sighed, “Is there anything else?”

“I’m sorry” Harley said, still looking at the ground and refusing to look either woman in the eye, “I shouldn’t have called you stupid and made fun of your cats.”

“Thank you, Harley” Miriam replied, Harley missed the wry smile she shot at May, “Now, let’s pick off where we left off shall we?”

Harley nodded and tried his best to concentrate, but it was hard. The sugar from the frosting was still running through his body and his lag began shaking as he tried to get rid of his excess energy. Now he understood why May had chosen to remain in the room and sit next to him, she ran calming circles on his back as he tried to concentrate with one hand and hooking her other around his arm.

It didn’t help that the Math work was super hard and stupid and Harley didn’t understand it because he wasn’t smart like his big brothers. Miriam ended the class early when she could sense he was getting upset again and promised him that he didn’t have to worry about it and they would go over the work again when they had more time the next day.

Harley was normally quite happy when Miriam left but as she left, it suddenly dawned on him that he’d wasted all of her time and hadn’t got any of his work done. Which meant that he was going to get in trouble, which meant his Dad was going to be mean to him again, which meant he’d spend another night being too scared to sleep but also too scared to go and find one of his brothers. They let him sleep in their beds a lot over the summer but now they were back at school it was happening less and less. Harry often just stormed to his room and locked it after an argument with their Dad and even Peter had taken to locking his bedroom door now as well.

May walked back in the kitchen to find Harley shaking, crying and wrapping his arms around his own stomach in an attempt to give himself a hug. She sighed.

“Oh honey, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m gonna be in trouble!” Harley cried, “You were right, Mom’s gonna shout at me because I didn’t do my work but it was really hard and I didn’t get it, I’m so stupid!”

“No, honey, you’re not stupid” May said reassuringly, bending down and squeezing his knee, “You’re very smart, and you-“

“I’m stupid” Harley repeated, “And you’re gonna tell Mom about the frosting but I couldn’t help it cos I’m so fat and greedy.”

“Harley, sweetheart-“

“I should just be dead!” Harley cried, pushing past May and running upstairs to his bedroom before she could say anything. He locked the door behind him and ignored May’s knocking and pleas for him to come out when she followed him a few minutes later. Harley pulled his knees up to his chest and slumped against his door. He didn’t want to be in trouble and he hadn’t meant to be bad he’d just eaten some of the frosting and then it was like his head went all weird and he made bad choices. Now his Mom was going to be unhappy and she wasn’t going to take him to the park. He hated disappointing her; it was the worst feeling in the world.

Once May had apparently given up and gone back downstairs, Harley crawled over to the draw under his bed where he hid his secret food stash. It was bad, he knew that, but he liked having the food there because it made him feel better when it was stressed. It was definitely part of the reason he was getting fat and why his Dad called him Pudge but he couldn’t help it. Harley just felt like if he hid the food in his room then when he did start to feel hungry he didn’t have to risk anyone catching him eating, incidents like the frosting were becoming rarer.

Looking down at the stored food, Harley reached down and grabbed a bag of chips but couldn’t bring himself to open them and eat. He felt sick in his tummy like he always did when he knew he was going to be in big trouble so he pushed them back in and closed the drawer, choosing to hide under his covers and pretend like he didn’t exist until his Mom got back and would yell at him.

Harley didn’t know exactly how long he’d been laying under his bed covers, shutting his eyes and pretending the world didn’t exist before he heard his Mom’s footsteps coming towards his room. He could always tell when it was his Mom’s footsteps, she had a very gentle and soft walk and he just knew when she was coming. Normally it was something that made Harley feel safe and happy, but not today. There was a knock on his bedroom door.

“Harley James Osborne, I think me and you might need to have a little conversation” his Mom’s voice sang from outside of his bedroom door and the sound caused Harley to climb out of his bed covers. She didn’t sound too mad, definitely not happy with him, but he didn’t think she sounded like she did when she would yell. Not that his Mom yelled often. “Auntie May’s told me about some of the things you’ve said and done today, I’m a little worried about you honey, can you let me in so I can talk to you?”

Harley considered his next steps. He didn’t know why what he said should make his Mom worry about him, she should’ve been angry with him! Maybe it was a trap? Maybe she was just pretending to be worried so he’d open the door and then she could yell at him?

“You’re not in trouble, baby, I promise” she then added with a little sigh that brought tears to Harley’s eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Harley climbed off of his bed and slowly made his way to the lock on his bedroom door, turning it and opening the door to let his Mom in.

He closed the door behind her once she was inside, cast his reddened eyes down at the floor again and made his way back to his bed to sit next to her. Her tummy was getting bigger now and Harley guessed it wouldn’t be long before they knew what kind of baby they were having. Harley was hoping it would be another boy so then he wouldn’t be the baby boy anymore but he supposed he didn’t mind the idea of having a little sister either.

The most important thing was he wasn’t going to be the youngest anymore.

“OK, sweetie, let’s talk about today” Mom sighed as she took Harley’s hand in hers, “Let’s get the tricky part out of the way first; you know better than to steal sugary foods because you know it sends you all giddy and silly. I’m disappointed and upset with how you spoke to Miriam today, because I know that you know how to be polite and kind and that wasn’t polite or kind, was it?”

“No, mama, I’m sorry” Harley whimpered, tears falling out of his dumb eyes again, “I did tell Miriam that I was sorry though. Please don’t tell Daddy, I don’t want him to yell at me.”

“Oh sweetie, your Dad already knows” Mom said sadly, “Miriam called us both. But I promise you that he won’t yell at you, OK?”

“Really?” asked Harley

“Have I ever broken a promise” Mom asked. Harley smiled and shook his head. Mom always kept her promises. He had no reason to believe she wouldn’t keep this one as well.

“Why are you worried?” Harley asked.

“Because some of the things you said to Auntie May are really scary, honey” Mom explained, “You told her that you’re fat and that you’re stupid. Neither of those things are true. You also told her that you should just be dead….why would you say something like that, sweetie. You know it’s not true.”

“Why’s it not?” Harley pouted, “You already got Peter and Harry and they’re like _perfect_ and now you’re gonna have another baby who’s probably gonna be better than me too. You don’t need me.”

“Harley, you can’t possibly think that” his Mom replied, sounding heartbroken and Harley leaped to his feet and hugged her when he noticed tears falling down her face. She squeezed him back but continued to cry which didn’t make him feel much better about himself, “That’s…. _Harley_ , I love you. Everyone loves you. You’re my little superstar. I’d be lost without seeing your little face wishing me good morning every day. I love you more than you’ll ever know….”

“Oh” Harley said simply, “But all I do is make trouble.”

“Which is your right as a nine-year old boy” Mom told him, “Honey, you need to let me know when you start feeling like this, because I never want you think anyone would be better off if you weren’t around. Our lives would be so miserable without you.”

“Even Dad’s?”

“Yes, even your Dad. Why would you even ask that? He’s your Dad, he loves you.”

Harley wanted to tell her she was wrong. Wanted to tell her that Dad didn’t even like him let alone love him and would probably be perfectly happy if he wasn’t around anymore but couldn’t, she was already so upset and that was all his fault. Mom stayed with him for another half an hour and they just lay down and cuddled on his bed, making him feel the happiest he’d been all day as she played with his hands in hers. She got up when they heard Harry and Peter come home from school and Harley feigned being too full up from the frosting to want dinner when she asked. There was one thing Harley Osborne had no intention of doing that evening; and that was eating. He’d been bad and made his Mom upset; he didn’t deserve it.

*

_Friday, 24 th October 2008, Osborne Penthouse, Manhattan, New York._

Harley’s Mom and Dad had had a pretty bad argument two nights ago. He hadn’t heard much of it because he’d stayed safe in his room but from what he had heard, he could tell it was about him. Mom had said something about how Dad had succeeded in making his own son so “full of self-hatred” that he had convinced himself no one loved him and that he’d been better off dead. Apparently the fact that she then had to elaborate to him which son she had been talking about had been reason enough for her to throw a candle at the wall, narrowly missing Dad. He’d gone to a hotel that night and was yet to come back home, which Harley didn’t much care about. He never missed his Dad when he was away, things were much better when he wasn’t there.

Dinner on Thursday night had been so much fun. Ben and May had come around and Harry and Peter had both brought around a friend for the first time in forever. Peter’s friend was Ned, who had been his best friend since the first day of school, and who Harley liked a lot. He liked having Ned around because Ned was fatter than he was so it made him feel less self-conscious about what he was eating. Seeing Ned reminded him that people might still like you even if you’re really fat. And he could be funny sometimes, too.

Harry’s friend had been much cooler. Even his name was cool. Johnny Storm. He was new to Harry and Peter’s school and lived just a few blocks down the road with his older sister and her husband. Harley had wanted to ask why Johnny didn’t live with his parents but he knew there was probably a sad reason that Johnny probably wouldn’t want to talk about. As it went, Harley didn’t actually say anything over dinner, he was just happy to listen to everyone else speak and not ruin it by saying something dumb. He had been sat in between Peter and Johnny though, and Johnny had even taken some of his peas and carrots when Harley hadn’t wanted them. Johnny was very charming and good-looking and Harley wanted to be like him when he was that age, even more than he wanted to be like Harry.

Friday had been mostly OK as well. Mom had driven Harry and Peter to school a little earlier than normal because she had a lot of things to do so May came around early to have breakfast with Harley. He was feeling much better about eating good in front of people whilst his Dad wasn’t in the house and making him feel bad about it so he and May must have eaten about six pancakes each before Miriam arrived to do Harley’s lessons. He was a good boy for her that day, he was surprised by how nice he was actually finding out Miriam could be when he sat down and listened to what she had to say. Some of the stuff she was trying to teach him was actually quite interesting. The woman had seemed very surprised when, at the end of their session, Harley gifted her with a drawing he’d done and hugged her for the first time. She’s smiled, hugged him back, said to have a nice weekend and for once he was actually looking forward to seeing her on Monday. May said she was proud of him and that his Mom would be too and that made Harley _so_ happy.

Peter and Harry got home from school at the usual time and joined in with May and Harley as they watched a movie in the living room. Harley noticed that Peter looked tired and seemed to be blinking a lot, so he detached himself from May and went to sit next to his second biggest brother and squeezed his hand. Peter smiled and squeezed it back whilst Harry told May all about his newest girlfriend.

Mom arrived home not long after and announced they were going to have a Chinese takeout for dinner that night as she was too tired to cook. That made Harley very excited because they were never allowed to get takeout food and only ever seemed to go to restaurants when Dad had some important business things to do and needed his family there to make him look better.

May went home as it was her and Ben’s night to host ‘Trivia’ with some of their friends. Harley thought his Mom looked a little bit jealous about that as May was leaving so suggested that after they were done with dinner, they should do their own family quiz, which seemed to cheer his Mom up and Harley felt proud of himself at that knowing for once he’d caused her smile.

It was all going so well until they were cleaning up from dinner and Dad walked back in, with smelly Mr. Beck just behind him as always.

“I’m home” he said simply as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

“I see” Mom replied, not looking up at him, “Boys, can you go to your rooms please? We’ll have to do Harley’s quiz idea another night. Sorry baby.”

Harley felt a little sad at hearing that but Mom stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head which made him feel better. Harley ignored his Dad, as did both Harry and Peter, as he filed past him and followed his two older brothers upstairs.

“I didn’t think he’d be back so soon” Harry whispered once they’d reached Peter’s bedroom door, “Thought we’d at least get a few more nights of peace.”

“I mean, it is his house I guess” Peter sighed, “But with what him and Mom were saying to each other on Wednesday, I didn’t think he’d be back yet either. Oh well.”

“They were fighting over me, weren’t they?” Harley asked. Peter and Harry both hesitated to reply and looked to one another for reassurance but couldn’t find it. “Knew it.”

“Look, let’s just leave them to it” Peter said, “I think we should still do Harley’s quiz in my room. It was a really cool idea, wasn’t it Harry?”

“Yeah, the coolest” Harry said with a smile which made Harley positively beam, “I need to go and have a shower and call Nicole, so let’s meet in Petey’s room in like fifteen minutes and you boys better be ready to get schooled cos I’m gonna defeat you both.”

“Nope, I’m gonna win!” Harley chuckled. Peter and Harry smiled before everyone went their separate ways to get ready for the quiz. Harley gathered all of his pencils, some sheets of paper and three candy bars from his secret stash before running into Peter’s room, which had been left unlocked for the first time in weeks, barely able to contain his excitement. His brothers thought his idea was cool. They thought it was so cool that they wanted to do it even when Mom had had to cancel it. Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a bad night after all.

Peter was texting on his bed when Harley entered. That was odd. Peter didn’t have a cellphone. It had been Dad’s rule for a long time that the boys were only allowed to have a cellphone when they turned thirteen, and even then it was only for emergency purposes. Harry had been given one for his birthday and was only allowed to use it for a few hours a day and wasn’t allowed to keep it in his room. The only reason he still had it that night was because Mom was a bit cooler and had let him when he’d ask, but Harley knew Peter wasn’t old enough for his own cellphone yet. So why did he have one? It didn’t seem very fair.

“Why do you have a cellphone, that’s not fair” Harley asked from the doorway and was surprised when Peter pretty much hit the ceiling with how high he jumped when he noticed Harley. He quickly hid the cellphone under his pillows as if Harley hadn’t literally just seen it.

“I don’t have a cellphone, don’t be ridiculous” Peter giggled nervously, running across the room to close and lock his bedroom door. Harley frowned. Why was Peter lying? Peter never lied.

“I just saw it!” Harley shot back, “Why do you have one? Did Mom and Dad get you one for your birthday? Why don’t I get one as well?”

“No, they didn’t” Peter snapped, “And no one can know I have one, OK Harley? It’s a secret.”

“A secret?” Harley asked, “Why?”

“Because Dad would flip out if he found I had it” Peter responded, “Harley, I need you to promise me that you’re not gonna tell anyone about this, not even Harry.”

“Not even Harry?” Harley repeated, that was a surprise, “But you and Harry tell each other everything. Why can’t you tell him about having a cellphone? He’s got one too, you could text one another!”

Peter rolled his eyes and looked impatient, almost angry, a look that Harley had never seen his second big brother have before now.

“It’s just really important that nobody else finds out about this” Peter whispered quickly, he gently pulled Harley by the hand and sat them both down on the edge of his bed. Peter pulled the cellphone out from under his pillow and showed it to Harley, who gasped. This wasn’t just a boring old cellphone like Harley’s, this was an iPhone. “OK, the person who got me would be really mad at me if they knew I was showing you this, and even madder if Mom and Dad found out.”

“Why, who is it?” Harley asked, “They must be a really good friend if they got you a phone like that. Is it Ned?”

“No, it’s not Ned” Peter groaned, “But it is someone from school. Someone from school who’s really cool and is trusting me with this and if I let them down, they won’t wanna be friends with me anymore, and it’s really important to me that I stay friends with this person. They’re one of the only people in the world I can talk to about anything.”

“But you can talk to Harry about anything!” Harley pointed out, “You and Harry are always talking about stuff, you have lots of secrets, why not this one too?”

“Because….well, I dunno really, my friend just didn’t want Harry to know either” Peter said slowly, “Maybe he doesn’t trust Harry or something….”

Harley frowned. He didn’t think he’d like this friend of Peter’s very much if he met him. It seemed almost like Peter was more scared of this person than he was friends with them. He wondered if maybe Peter was being bullied and would get hurt if anyone found out about the cellphone. Yes! That’s what it was. Harley felt bad, he didn’t want Peter to get hurt.

“I won’t tell anyone” Harley sighed, “I promise. Not even Harry.”

“Thanks, Harls” Peter said with a smile, “I’m sorry for freaking out on you but I didn’t mean for anyone to find out I had a phone. It’s better if you just pretend like we never had this conversation, do you think you can do that for me? I’m trusting you with a pretty big secret here.”

Harley nodded with excitement. He was in on a secret! He never got to be in on the secrets, it was always Harry and Peter who got to know them. Now he and Peter had one of their own that not even Harry would get to know about because Peter trusted him that much.

“I won’t tell anyone” Harley repeated, “And it’s not even really lying if I don’t tell anyone cos it’d be only lying if they asked me ‘hey, does Peter have a cellphone’ and I said ‘no’ even though I know you do.”

“Right” Peter replied with a nervous chuckle, “How are you anyway? I’ve been a little bit worried about you all week, I heard Mom telling Dad some of the stuff you said to Aunt May on Wednesday. That’s kinda scary that you think like that, Harls. Especially when you know how much we all love you.”

“I know” Harley sighed, “Mom told me earlier she thinks I should see a therapist but I don’t want to cos only crazy people see therapists and I’m not crazy, Peter.”

“No, you’re not crazy” Peter said with a smile, “But if you ask me, you thinking we’d be better off if you were dead is kinda crazy…doesn’t mean you’re crazy, just means your brain sometimes tells you crazy things and you believe it. I think you should go and talk to the therapist cos it might stop it happening again.”

“You’d really be sad if I wasn’t here?” Harley asked quietly.

“Super sad” Peter assured him, “You’re my pain in the butt little brother, me and Harry would both be totally lost without you.”

“The man tells no lies” Harry chimed in from the doorway. Peter rolled his eyes.

“Would you please stop picking the lock to my door?” he asked their older brother.

“When you stop locking it” Harry replied as Peter rolled his eyes, “Well, if anyone wants an update, there’s no shouting or screaming going on downstairs. They’re just….talking, which means she’s gonna forgive him, which means Dad’s gonna be moving back in and we’ll all pretend like the other night didn’t happen all over again.”

Harry sat down and seemed to have had the same concerns about Harley as Peter had judging by his body language. Harry wasn’t as good at using his words as Peter was when people he cared about were upset, but he knew Harley always loved his hugs, so he sat behind Harley and held him between his knees. It was something they’d done when Harley was really little and Harry had started not hugging as much in the last two years, but it was still nice to do from time to time.

Peter was elected to be quiz host as he was the smartest brother and it was fairer if Harry and Harley went up against one another, though Peter did make them promise to let him answer questions next time. Harley smiled all the way through the quiz. Being with his big brothers was so fun and they made everything seem better. He lost the quiz to Harry, naturally, but with questions like “what is the name of the moody looking girl in my chemistry class?” and “who blocked the toilets with paper on Spirit week?” he guessed he never really stood a chance.

Harley couldn’t wait to go to a normal school and make friends of his own.

Once the quiz was done, Harry took himself off to bed because Ben Parker was coming around at six in the morning to take him on a run around Central Park. Peter asked Harley if he wanted to sleep in his bed for the night but Harley declined, he was feeling good and knew he wouldn’t have any nightmares, so went back to his own room,

Before he climbed into bed, however, Harley felt like he should go and check on his Mom. She normally came to give him a goodnight kiss but hadn’t yet so he figured she was still talking to Dad and wanted to check she was alright. Harley might have been scared at his Dad, but if he could charge at him for hurting Harry, he knew he could stand up to him to defend his Mom if he needed to. Curling his hands into little fists just in case, Harley cautiously made his way to the living room where he was surprised to find his parents cuddled up together looking as if they’d never shouted at one another before in their lives. He let his fists uncurl and couldn’t tell if he felt more relieved or confused by what he was saying.

“Harley, sweetie, it’s nearly past your bedtime” Mom said as Harley came into the room, “I was going to come up and check on you in like five minutes.”

“Wanted to come say night now” Harley shrugged. His Dad was watching him and sprang into action when Mom nudged him in the ribs.

“I’m actually quite glad you’ve come downstairs, son” Dad said pompously, “I wanted to talk with you about some of the things that were said on Wednesday night.”

“Oh” Harley replied, immediately feeling panicked as his Mom lifted herself off of the sofa and made her way out of the room. Surely she wasn’t going to leave him alone with Dad?! “Where are you going, mama?”

“To make me and you some cocoa before bed, sweetie” Mom said, flashing the smile that always set the butterflies in Harley’s tummy at ease, “Whilst I’m gone, I want Dad to have a talk with you about some stuff, OK? I’ll be just down the hall in the kitchen.”

She kissed him on the forehead and left the room, and Harley at his Dad’s mercy.

“Are you going to sit or just stand there?” Dad asked. Harley was pretty much frozen to the spot; he couldn’t even remember a time in his life when he’d been all alone with his Dad in a room and did not like the feeling whatsoever. “Fine, stand it is, I guess.”

Dad got up off the sofa and sighed before bending down to Harley’s eye-level. He placed a hand on Harley’s shoulder which made the young boy flinch a little.

“Your mother wants me to talk to you” he began, “She’s disturbed by some of the things you said the other night and seems to hold me responsible for you saying them. Now, I disagree, but I do think it’s worrying that you think some of the things you do, Harley.”

Harley frowned. His Dad must be serious if he was calling him by his real name and not Pudge. But maybe it was because Mom was only in the next room and she could probably hear, Pudge was only a name he called Harley when she wasn’t around. He definitely wanted to call him it though, judging by how he prodded Harley’s stomach as he spoke. He always did that.

“Like what?” Harley asked.

“Well, the fact you wished yourself dead for one thing is very concerning” Dad replied, “You’re a nine-year old boy, you shouldn’t be having thoughts like that. You’re an extension of myself, Harley, I have no desire to see you dead. It would bring me no joy. Do you understand that? You’re needed. I need you to be the best you can be to help me, help this whole family. That’s why I’m so hard on you boys sometimes, I just want you to be as good as you can be. If you died then inevitably someone would ask where I went wrong as a parent and I can’t have that, can I?”

“No, sir” Harley replied, shaking a little and confused about why he suddenly wanted to cry all over again, he wasn’t used to his Dad speaking to him like this.

“But you can do me one little favor to help over the next week” Dad carried on, voice dropping even lower this time, and his fingers dug into where they were holding Harley by the shoulders, “You know how I am running for….a new job, let’s say-“

“Senate!” Harley said for him. Dad nodded.

“Yes, senate” Dad smiled, “Well, next week, there’s going to be a little bit of a party uptown where I can mingle with some very important people and get them to agree to support me. Now, we’re all going to go to this party together, OK? I want us all to be there and I want you boys on your best, best, best behaviour, understood?”

Harley nodded.

“And I need something from you especially, Harley” Dad continued, “See, I know that me not being here makes the house run a little differently and not everyone does what they are supposed to do. So, I know that you’ve been eating like a little piggy for the last few days, your face looks a lot rounder than it did only three days ago.”

Harley froze. He had been having such a nice time with his Dad away for the past few days that he hadn’t even really stopped to consider how much he was eating and how bad most of it was for him. He’d somehow got even fatter. His lip quivered.

“Between me and you, we both know you need to lose some weight” Dad pressed on, “Especially for next week. Your little suit and tie barely fits you anymore, it’s way too tight because you’ve gotten so damn pudgy in the last year. Not like your brothers. Their suits still fit them perfectly because they’re not greedy little pigs who help themselves to any food they come across.”

“I’m sorr-“ Harley began but was cut off.

“No need to be sorry, champ, no need to be sorry” Dad smirked, “I need you to be thinner. People aren’t gonna want Dad to get his new job if they see that he’s got a fat son, are they? No. They’re going to think Dad’s a bad parent. So what I want from you is a promise that for the next week you’re not going to eat any candy or sweeties or chips, OK?”

Harley nodded. His Dad was telling the truth. He had gotten bigger; truth was even more of his clothes didn’t fit him anymore. His face was pudgy and his stomach was round and it was all his fault because he was just so damn greedy. Harley wrapped his arms around his stomach, ashamed of it. Dad gently moved them and prodded his belly again.

“I know it might seem mean, son” he went on, “But I’m doing this for your own good. My brother, your Uncle Andy, died before you were born from a heart attack because he was so overweight. I’m just trying to make sure them same thing doesn’t happen to you. Andy was my little brother and I’m sad because I miss him every day, and so do Nana and Grandpa, so can you imagine how s _ad_ you’d make the rest of us if you let yourself get any fatter?”

No! No! Harley didn’t want that. He didn’t want his brothers or his Mom to be sad about him. He only ever wanted them to be happy. And if he died because he’d gotten so fat then it would be all his fault they were sad.

“I’ll try” he said, shaking on the spot as his Dad smiled at him, “I’m-I’m sorry Daddy, I never meant to get so fat. I-I just don’t think about how m-much I’m e-eating sometimes..”

“Well, now’s your chance to start, _Pudge_.” Dad added the last word in a whisper when Mom came back into the room with two mugs of hot chocolate and told Harley it was time for bed. Harley kissed his Dad on the cheek before going as he didn’t want to get in trouble if he made his Mom think that Dad hadn’t done what she’d asked him too.

And maybe he left the hot chocolate untouched on his bedside table before he finally fell to sleep.

*

_Saturday, November 1 st, 2008, Osborne Penthouse, Manhattan, New York._

The last week hadn’t been quite as hard as Harley feared. Not eating sweets every day was tough but he’d managed it. On Monday morning, in a brief window between his Mom leaving and Aunt May arriving, Harley surrendered his secret stash of sweets to Beck and received a proud pat on the head from his father before he left as a reward. It actually made Harley quite happy, which he hadn’t expected.

His lessons with Miriam had gone really well as week too. He was actually enjoying his time with her now and May didn’t have to come in and remind him to do his work once. Harley’s Mom was so proud of his efforts on Wednesday that she’d offered to get him a McDonald’s for lunch as a treat but Harley declined it and asked for a sandwich at home instead. This had surprised Mom but she’d agreed and they spent the rest of the afternoon in the park, which Harley enjoyed.

He was proud of himself for keeping Peter’s secret about the cellphone as well. He hadn’t even hinted to anyone all week that he and Peter had this big exciting secret, and Peter hadn’t brought it up once in conversation either. They were cahoots buddies now. Harry and Peter had been told about the party mid-week and both had moaned a little but agreed to go, Harry was especially enthusiastic when it turned out Johnny Storm would also be attending with his older sister and her husband. Peter, who was secretly a fan of Tony Stark, seemed surprised but excited when Mom told him that Mr. Stark was due to make his first public appearance since his kidnapping at the Gala. Harley didn’t know why the party was being called a Gala but he figured he should start calling it that as well when everyone else did.

Dad checked on his eating progress every day and encouraged Harley to start making a list of everything he’d eaten in a day so he and Beck could check it. Harley found himself quite enjoying doing this as it gave him a way of seeing just how well he was doing. Like on Wednesday, when he’d only eaten two slices of toast at breakfast, a baloney sandwich at lunch and then pasta at dinner with the rest of the family. It made Harley feel like he was more in control of his eating than ever before.

The only day that had kinda sucked had been Friday which was Halloween and Harley had had to pretend that he didn’t want to go trick-or-treating with his brothers anymore. He felt a little hurt when they were both very relieved they didn’t have to walk around with him in a ghost costume anymore – Harley had actually been really looking forward to it – but hid it because he was pretending. Instead, he spent Halloween next to Peter on the sofa watching Hocus Pocus. Harry had been allowed to go out and meet his latest girlfriend, Stephanie.

By Saturday, the day of the Gala, Harley felt proud for how well he’d done with food throughout the week and was pleased when he managed to fit into his old suit and tie with no problems. His stomach was flatter, he could tell his cheeks weren’t as puffy and he felt good. The only issue was that he still felt just so gosh darn hungry, but he was learning to ignore it.

The Gala was at some fancy tower downtown and Dad had left earlier with Beck to get a head start on talking to people. He’d taken one last look at Harley before he’d gone and given him a nod of approval that made Harley’s heart sore. He was succeeding. He’d done it. He was going to lose weight and then he’d stop getting called Pudge and would start to feel good about himself again. He was already to go ages before either Harry or Peter.

Harry was taking extra long in the bathroom getting his hair “just right” and Peter had locked himself in his bedroom to get ready as well, but Harley knew that meant he was texting his friend on his secret iPhone and didn’t want to be caught. Not that he would have been, Mom was struggling to get ready due to her pregnancy belly even with May’s help and Uncle Ben was in the kitchen when Harley got downstairs and turned the television on.

“Hey champ, not often that you’re the first to get ready” Ben said with a smile as Harley walked past him and got himself a drink of water, “You want me to tie your tie for you, buddy?”

“Yes, please” Harley replied with a smile. Ben picked him up and sat him down on the kitchen island top so they were more or less at eye-level. Ben smiled as he took Harley’s tie and began to loop it.

“And might I say, young Mr. Osborne is looking very dashing this evening” Ben remarked as he tucked Harley’s shirt in as well.

“I know” Harley said as he rolled his eyes.

“You do?” Ben replied, “That’s so nice to hear, Harley. You’re never normally this nice about yourself.”

“It’s cos I’m on a diet” Harley said proudly, “I’m not eating sweeties or anything because if I don’t, I’ll carry on getting thinner and thinner and then I’ll look as good as Harry and Peter!”

Uncle Ben’s face fell and it made Harley frown in confusion. This was a good thing, right? He was getting thinner, this is what everyone wanted from him, even if they never said it.

“OK, buddy, I think we’re about done” Ben said after a second of silence, he smiled as he lifted Harley off the counter and stood him back up on the floor. To Harley’s surprise, his Uncle Ben knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder, “Harley, you know you’re perfect just the way you are, don’t cha? Like there’s nothing about you that needs to change bud.”

“No one’s perfect, Ben, even Mom’s not perfect” Harley replied, “But I know I’m OK. Why do you look sad? Do you want a hug?”

“Yeah, I’ll have one Harley special please” Ben replied and Harley giggled as he leaned in and rested his head on Ben’s shoulder. He felt Ben’s hand sooth him up and down on his back and Harley was once again hit with the fact that sometimes he wished Ben was his dad instead of his real one. He would really like a Dad as nice as Ben.

“I love you, Ben” he whispered.

“I love you too, buddy” Ben replied with a smile as he released himself from the hug. If Harley didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that Ben was trying not to cry. That was weird. He didn’t think that Ben would ever cry. Whoever made Ben sad was a real jerk because he was the nicest person ever. Harley wanted to fight whoever it was.

“Do you wanna watch cartoons with me until we leave?” he asked. He knew that watching Road Runner always made his Uncle Ben laugh.

“Yeah, I’d love to do that” Uncle Ben replied heavily, “But before we do, I just gotta go and talk to Aunt May and your Mom, OK? Why don’t you fire up the TV and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“OK!” Harley said and he skipped off into the living room. He was just making so many people proud this week, and Ben’s face had really lit up when Harley suggested they watched cartoons, so now he was making Ben happy as well.

Maybe Dad was right. Maybe Harley would be so much more useful when he was thin. It was only week one of his diet and look what a difference it had made. Still, it wasn’t happy, something was making Uncle Ben sad and Harley definitely didn’t like that.

*

_Saturday, November 1st, 2008, Mallory Tower Ballroom, Manhattan, New York._

The Gala room was probably one of the fanciest places that Harley had ever been. There were ice sculptures and harps and the ceiling was golden. The Osborne boys walked in with their mother, aunt and uncle and Harley immediately knew just why his Dad had wanted him to not be fat and embarrassing on a night like tonight. Everyone in the ballroom was dressed super fancy and Harley couldn’t spot any kids who were as fat as he was, even with his diet. The kids of people like this were all super skinny and fit and Harley needed to be that way as well or else his Dad would never get elected, and he wanted his Dad to get elected.

He’d asked Miriam to explain to him what a senator was and what they did earlier in the week and from what she’d told him, it sounded like his Dad would be out of the house a lot more than he already was if he did win. And he’d probably take stupid Mr. Beck with him as well. Harry and Peter had both seemed quite excited by this as well so the brothers had all decided that they would help get their Dad his new job in whatever way they could.

“Oh, good, you’ve all made it” Beck said as he approached the boys and their guardians once they stepped inside the ballroom, “Mr. Osborne’s already making his rounds and it’s going so well that he didn’t want to step away to come and greet you all.”

“Charming” Aunt May said under her breath.

“What’s the game plan, Quentin?” Mom asked, “I’d rather not be here for hours on end in my condition, I assume Norman has made people aware of that ahead of time?”

“Yes, Mr. Osborne has overseen every eventuality” Beck replied, “He’s asked that you and the boys stay for at least two hours, which I think is-“

“I don’t pay you to voice me your opinions” Mom snapped, “Two hours is fine, but not a second more.”

Harley loved how much his Mom openly disliked Beck. It was so funny, and it showed just how much of a jerk Beck was because Harley was fairly sure his Mom liked pretty much everyone else she met.

“And what does he want us to do?” Harry asked impolitely. Beck shot him a look but seemed to give up when none of the other adults called Harry out on his tone.

“Just don’t embarrass him in any way” Beck snarled back, “I assume you won’t find that too challenging, Harold.”

“You’re overstepping, Quentin” Mom warned again, “Boys, try and make your own entertainment for the next few hours, try not to do anything to dishonor the family name. And Harley, just let yourself go at that chocolate fountain. That’s an order.”

Harley frowned and looked over to the middle of the room where there was, indeed, an obscenely large chocolate fountain placed front and center. His stomach practically lurched when he saw it and it all looked so delicious but Beck caught his eye and Harley became determined that the last thing he was going to do was touch that thing.

They broke off into small groups not long after, the boys knew the drill. Ben and May headed off to go and talk to some of the Oscorp employees who had also got an invitation, Mom went off to be by Dad’s side and Harry went to go and find Johnny, promising to come back to his two younger brothers as soon as he did. This left Harley and Peter on their own sitting on one of the sofa’s in the very back left corner of the ballroom, having both sat down in the quietist place they could find, something of a tradition when it came to attending events like this.

“You not hitting up that chocolate fountain?” Peter asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Nah, not hungry” Harley lied.

“Sure you’re not” Peter sighed, “You skipped out on lunch because you said you wanted to save room to stuff your face tonight, no way in hell you’re not hungry.”

“Maybe I’m just not hungry for chocolate” Harley shrugged.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but you need to eat more” Peter replied, “I’m worried about you, you’ve been off your food all week. Are you sick?”

“No” Harley sighed, “Just trying to-“

“You’re not fat you know” Peter interjected, “Like not even a little bit, you’re a perfectly normal size for a boy your age. There’s so many kids at my school who are fatter than you are.”

“Like Ned?” Harley asked.

“Sure” Peter cringed as he said, “Ned is bigger than you but he doesn’t care. He says he likes food and he wants to eat it, so why shouldn’t he? Yeah, he might be big but that doesn’t mean he’s unhealthy. He does like tai chi and stuff with his Dad. He’s actually super healthy.”

“Oh” Harley replied, he didn’t know that you could be both fat and healthy.

“So, want me to get you anything from the chocolate fountain?” Peter asked, “Cos I sure as hell know I want some strawberries and melted chocolate….same for you?”

“Fine” Harley sighed, knowing there was no way to win the argument, “But not too many. I really am not that hungry.”

“OK” Peter replied, patting Harley on the knee and getting up to head towards the fountain. He bumped into Johnny and Harry on his way there and became distracted by conversation. Not that Harley minded that it was taking his brothers a little longer to return to him, it was peaceful in his little corner and he knew that he couldn’t embarrass his family at all if no one was talking to him.

And no one was, until Tony Stark came and sat down on the sofa opposite him. Harley’s eyed went very wide as the billionaire businessman sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“You’re Tony Stark” Harley said dumbly.

“That’s the name kid, don’t wear it out” Mr. Stark replied, “Hey, aren’t you that Osborne kid, shouldn’t you be on display somewhere?”

“Probably” Harley replied, “I don’t really like things like this so me and my brother Peter normally come and hide in a corner.”

“Great minds think alike” Mr. Stark smirked, “Remind me, which one are you again? Rupert, is it? No, I know, you’re Daniel.”

“None of us are called that” Harley laughed, “I’m Harley.”

“Harley! It was on the tip of my tongue” Mr. Stark cheered as he leaned forward and extended his hand for Harley to shake, “Nice to meet you, I’m Tony Stark, but of course you knew that.”

“Why are you hiding?” Harley asked, before his eyes went even wider, “Oh my god, the people who kidnapped you aren’t after you again are they?!”

Mr. Stark hung his head back and laughed as a very confused looking Harry, Johnny and Peter arrived back at the sofa’s each armed with a plate of food. Harley grimaced as his three chocolate strawberries plus some other snacks from the catering table were placed down in front of him, he hoped the conversation with Mr. Stark would distract attention away from the fact he wasn’t eating.

To his relief, he was right.

Peter and Harley both gasped when they realized who their little brother was talking too and immediately started to ask Mr. Stark pretty much every question they could think of, and to Harley’s surprise the billionaire seemed happy to answer each and every one of them. Everything from Johnny asking him what it was like being held captive in a cave, to Harry asking him why Stark Industries built weapons in the first place, to Peter’s admiration of Stark’s many scientific achievements. Harley once again kept himself quiet during their conversation with Mr. Stark, not wanting to embarrass himself or anyone else.

They were soon interrupted my Mr. Stark’s assistant.

“Tony, what’re you doing over here?” Pepper Potts asked impatiently. She folded her arms and shot the boys a courtesy smile before zoning in on her rebellious boss.

“Making friends” Mr. Stark replied as if it was obvious, “You know, that thing you said I had to do which was the whole purpose of even coming here tonight.”

“When I said make friends, I meant chat to potential donors” Mrs. Potts replied, rolling her eyes and reminding Harley more than a little of his Mom, “Not hide in the corner and make chit chat with the children of our biggest competitors. No offence, kids, I’m sure you’re all charming in your own ways.”

“That one launched a potato with a catapult!” Tony said with a grin as he pointed at Harley who went beet red and tried to hide his face.

“Yes, and he cost us a new window in the process” Mom’s voice rang out from behind Harley and he felt her steadying hand rest on his shoulder, “We’ve got quite the motley crew here, Mr. Stark, which I’m sure you’re well aware of after half an hour of conversation.”

“They’re great!” Tony said cheerfully, “Easily the best company I’ve had here all night. You know, I should really start thinking about an initiative to mold young minds in my image.”

“I’d go” said Peter immediately.

“Yeah, me too” Harley chimed in, speaking for the first time in around twenty minutes. In the short time they’d spent together, Harley already liked Tony Stark a lot. He could tell that the man was a little lost and scared and he wanted to make him happy as well.

So, Harley did what he knew he could do best and walked across the space and enveloped Tony Stark in a hug. Everyone seemed surprised when Stark hugged him back.

“Good kid you got here” he told Harley’s Mom.

“He’s the best” Mom replied with a smile and Harley’s heart felt full, even if his stomach didn’t.

“You’re looking well, Mary” Mrs. Potts said politely, “Congratulations on the pregnancy, I’m sure you and Norman must be absolutely delighted.”

“Wait, you’re pregnant again?” Mr. Stark asked, “Damn, you really do miss a lot when you’re held captive in a cave against your will.”

“Coping well with your traumatic experience, Mr. Stark?” Mom asked in that tone of voice that she used whenever she was unimpressed but not in a situation where she could express it.

“There’s no trauma that humor and champagne can’t numb” Tony replied as he raised his glass of champagne and downed it. Mrs. Potts rolled her eyes, took Tony by the hand and lead him away from the gaggle of impressionable children. Harley was pretty sure that Mr. Stark was the coolest adult he’d ever met but his Mom seemed to take the opposite view if the look on her face and the tone of her voice were anything to go by.

Mrs. Potts seemed to share his Mom’s view and made a deliberately loud coughing noise.

“I didn’t mean that” Mr. Stark sighed, “Go to therapy kids, it’s important. Helps you get better and all that crap. OK, peace out!”

Harley smirked as Mrs. Potts led him away by the arm.

“That is a man on the edge” Harry commented once Mr. Stark had gone.

“Yes, I think you may be right, Harold” Dad remarked as he walked towards his family, “Stark has been making a total fool of himself all night. You boys are practically the archangels compared to that man. I don’t think he’s coping well.”

“We should support him really” Mom sighed, “But I just didn’t want him scaring the boys with any trauma inducing stories. Maybe we should set up a meeting with him when he’s not in a room full of alcohol and people judging him.”

“I thought he was cool” Peter piped up, “He seems super smart and he wasn’t as obnoxious when he was talking to just us.”

May and Ben walked over and Harley was treated to May draping her arms around his shoulders and pressing her chin down softly on his head. Beck had also reached them, but stood in the background, lightly sipping a glass of champagne,

“I’m tired, bored and have a slightly champagne drunk husband, can we please leave?” May asked.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting back home” Mom agreed, “It’s getting late and I’m just very aware the boys didn’t have dinner before we came out. Have we spoken to everyone we needed to speak to and be seen by everyone we needed to be seen by, dear?”

“Yes, quite a successful evening all around, I would say” Dad replied, “You and the boys can head back home if you want. Pierce has asked me to attend an exclusive poker game back at his home so I think myself and Beck will head over there, possibly book a room at the Seasons if the game goes on too long. Parker, I trust you’re not so champagne drunk that you won’t be able to stay over at the penthouse and keep an eye on things there?”

“I’ll be fine, sir” Uncle Ben replied, “May’s exaggerating anyway.”

“How dare” May replied with a smile before whispering, “I just want to get out of here” to Harley as she carried on hugging him. He laughed.

“Can’t I stay here with Johnny?” Harry asked. Johnny nodded. Harley and Peter both frowned, Harry would never usually ask to stay somewhere like this any later than he needed to.

“I’d rather you came home, honey” Mom replied, “But if you really want to spend time with Johnny, I wouldn’t object to him coming home with us, as long as it’s OK with Reed and Susan.”

“That’d be awesome, Mrs. Osborne, thank you” Johnny replied, “Shall we go and ask them?£

“Very well, lead on” Mom said with a smile before following Harry and Johnny across the ballroom. Peter stood up to go and leave.

“I’ll get the car fired up” May said as she kissed Ben on the cheek, “Harley and Peter, come with me, no use hanging around.”

As they left, Harley’s father took a step forward and squeezed his youngest son’s shoulder. Harley knew it was to communicate a message of job well done.

The boys followed their Aunt May and headed down to the parking lot. It was only 10pm so the Gala was still in full swing upstairs. They piled into the car when Mom returned with Ben, Harry and Johnny following her a few moments later. Harley ended up sitting on Ben’s knee in the passenger seat of the car when they realized there wasn’t enough room for everyone now Johnny was coming as well. He and Harry sat in the very back of the car whilst Mom and Peter took up the middle seats. Harley felt a yawn coming on and settled into Uncle Ben’s chest, the man’s strong hand keeping him in place and repeating the same comforting motion he had done during their hug in the kitchen earlier.

“So, what’s the plan Mrs. Osborne” May asked as she began driving.

“Oh, well, now that we’ve lost Mr. Osborne for the night, I was thinking we could maybe have some fun” Mom replied and the mood of the whole car seemed to lift, “I was thinking, get a McDonalds to take home, stock up on some good junk food and watch terrible movies until the early hours. Who’s up for that?”

The whole car cheered, save for Harley. That seemed like the exact opposite of what he should be doing if he wanted to carry on getting thinner and making everyone else proud. By the time they got home, it was nearly 11 and Harley felt hungrier than he’d ever done. As Uncle Ben carried him back into the penthouse, Harley felt very conflicted as he watched everyone else dig into their McDonalds food. Ben put him down and followed May into the living room when she offered him his food. Champagne drunk Ben loved nothing more than a Big Mac.

It was just Harley and his Mom left in the kitchen. He stood rooted to the spot, nervously rubbing his arm, completely unaware of what was the best thing to do.

“Hey” Mom said softly as she got down on her knee and put her hands on his shoulders, “For me? OK? Will you eat it for me, if not for you?”

“But I-“

“You’re so beautiful, Harley” Mom whispered as she stroked his face, “I have three beautiful sons and none of them seem to know how beautiful they are. Well, I’m here to say that you are beautiful just the way you are and you do not need to change one single thing about yourself. You are not fat. You can eat a McDonalds and not worry, because you have nothing to worry about.”

Harley blinked back tears as he watched his Mom’s smile fade at his hesitation. Why was he always letting people down, no matter what he did? If he ate the crappy junk food, he’d be letting Dad down but if he didn’t he’d be making his Mom sad. Which was weird. May stood at the door, arms folded and waiting, smiling at him as if to say, ‘I agree with everything your Mom is saying’.

Harley looked at them both and knew one thing for sure; if he had to make a choice between making them happy and making his Dad proud, he would choose their happiness every single time.

Slowly, he nodded and his Mom’s smile returned.

Clutching his Happy Meal in one hand and his mother’s hand with the other, Harley settled between his Mom and Aunt May as Peter pressed play on whatever terrible movie they’d all decided to watch. Conversation and moaning about the stuffy, boring Gala soon overtook the movie but Harley once again kept himself quiet. He didn’t want to say something stupid. He merely tucked himself into his mother’s side as she laughed at Harry and Johnny’s weirdly spot-on impressions of a conversation between their Dad and Mr. Beck.

Peter, oddly, was the first one to fall asleep and was carried to bed by Ben who didn’t return. When May went to check on where her husband was, she returned with a smile on her face and informed the room that Ben had fallen asleep next to Peter on his bed. She had taken a photo and stored it in what she liked to call her ‘blackmail for when they’re eighteen’ folder.

At some point, Harley must have fallen asleep too because the next thing he knew it was morning and he was tucked up next to his Mom in her bed.

He could only remember two things past the movie’s ending. One was the feeling of being carried, he guessed by May, to his mother’s bedroom. The second was the vague memory of a conversation between his Mom and Aunt May.

Harley’s head was resting on one of their laps as a soothing hand stroked his hair, and they clearly both thought he was fast asleep judging by what he could remember them saying.

( _“It has to be soon, Mary, it has to be” said May, “He is breaking your babies. Ben is so worried about Harley, he’s a total mess and it’s Norman who’s made him that way.”_

_I know, I know” Mom replied, “I want to leave, I do, but I can’t. Things are so complicated. And you know what he’s like, he’d destroy me.”_

_“We’ll protect you” May snapped, “The whole reason we’re even in these jobs is so we can make sure you and your babies are safe. Please, Mary. You have to do this now before he can inflict anymore damage on those gorgeous boys of yours. Harley is dangerously thin, Mary…._ ”)

He couldn’t quite figure out if it was a dream or not. It seemed like it had been a real conversation but he knew that his Mom and his Aunt May never, ever argued and they seemed fine and like their usual selves over breakfast the next morning.

Plus, something May had said in the dream kept sticking in his mind.

_Harley is dangerously thin. Harley is dangerously thin. Harley is dangerously thin._

That’s what convinced him it was a dream. That was just his brain telling him what he wanted to hear. He’d only been on his diet a week, there was no way he was thin enough yet. Was there even such a thing as being dangerously thin? How could there be, being thin was a good thing.

Everything was fine, it was getting better.

Harley knew how he could make his Dad happy now. He knew that if he carried on getting thinner than his Dad would be happier which meant he would be nicer to everyone.

It was fine, it was all going to be fine. So what if he was hungry all the time? So what if he tried his best to skip every meal? He was going to be thin. It was the only way to make everyone happy. Maybe he should talk to that therapist his Mom wanted him to see, if it was good enough for Tony Stark, it was good enough for him.

Harley threw away the remains of his breakfast when no one was looking. The McDonalds was enough junk food for a while, he didn’t need fatty bacon and eggs as well. No, this was fine.

It was all fine.

But it was just….he wasn’t struggling it’s just that…. _God,_ he was just so _hungry_.

**Author's Note:**

> i cried writing this in like 4 different places.
> 
> next chapter we gon delve into may's head and her backstory with mary and norman. 
> 
> please leave a comment below and tell me what you think.  
> as always, stay safe,  
> much love,  
> jamie   
> xxxx


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